Thanks Nocaster. I put the Q filter in, and it does pretty much what it says. The sound without the tone cap was already a little clearer/brighter (that is with the Q filter full up). Turned down, it gives the impression of having lower output pickups. It just seems to roll some of the fullness off. It's not super dramatic, maybe because these are not high output, but I think it helps this set get more stratlike because the fullness of the 280 and 298 kind of take some of the classic start tone away. Not a bad thing, but I like being able to have both on one axe. That's a first for me! The change is somewhat subtle, and emphasized more when playing with gain. I like it! you may be right about the 298 however. I'll try a couple things like 500k pots, and maybehaving only the N and B pickups on the tone controls. I have no-load pots, but last time I tried them, they popped loudly when clicked "on". This will take a little experimenting, but I'm enthralled at the moment by the pickups already, so it is only a question of building on a great sound and optimizing for what I want to hear. Will post more later